Hamilton and Verstappen dish out a battle for the ages

For those who have been following Formula 1 over the years, the Canadian GP podium battle on Sunday between seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and four-time winner Max Verstappen must have evoked memories of their epic duel at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

While Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli won a record 4^th straight race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after a pulsating battle with teammate George Russell ended with the latter retiring from the race because of a power unit malfunction, it was the tussle between perennial rivals Hamilton and Verstappen that lit up the track in Montreal.

After being passed by Verstappen early on in the race, the 41-year-old Hamilton eventually overtook the 28-year-old Red Bull driver for second place with six laps to go in cold and windy conditions for his best result since joining Ferrari last year.

"Finally, we found our sweet spot and had a good weekend. It's amazing to be back up here and I got to have a battle with Max, which was great. I am so happy, I love this track," said Hamilton.

It wasn’t a bad result for the Dutchman either as he reached the podium for the first time this season.

"I had some cool battles," said Verstappen. "It is better to race up front. And it is really cool to have our first podium and to battle with Lewis. All really positive."

Buoyed by his strong drive and result, Hamilton said he was optimistic for the future and encouraged Ferrari to believe they can chase down the pace-setting Mercedes team.

"It's definitely encouraging, given that this weekend, Mercedes brought a big upgrade here," said Hamilton.

"A lot of people brought them here – we brought our big one in Miami and the team are working really hard back at the factory so hopefully we've got some things on the way.

"Considering this is a really straight circuit and we just managed to hold on and get this result, it definitely gives me high hopes for what's ahead, but we've got to keep pushing and keep trying to extract more."

Following Sunday's race, Italian teen Antonelli extended his lead ahead over teammate Russell to 43 points in the drivers' title race.